A tragic incident unfolded on Route 90 in Blandford when a tractor-trailer crash led to the death of a pedestrian. According to the Massachusetts State Police, the accident occurred around 9:45 a.m. and involved two separate collisions. State Police-Westfield troopers responded to the scene after receiving reports of a tractor-trailer hitting the median guardrail on the eastbound side of the highway.
While the authorities were on their way to the initial crash, a second distressing event took place. A pedestrian was hit by another tractor-trailer on the westbound side, near the same location of the first accident. The man, later identified as 36-year-old Nicholas Charles from Mechanicville, N.Y., did not survive the impact. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the responding troopers. Charles had been crossing the westbound lanes to retrieve an object from the road, dislodged during the crash he was involved in moments earlier.
The driver of the first tractor-trailer, Charles had initially struck the guardrail and subsequently exited his vehicle. In an attempt to cross to the opposite side of the highway, he was hit by the second tractor-trailer, which was operated by a 69-year-old man from Ontario, Canada. The back-to-back accidents prompted a rigorous investigation conducted by multiple units including the State Police-Westfield, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section, and Crime Scene Services, with oversight from detectives assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney's Office.
Investigations into the precise causes and circumstances of the fatal incident are ongoing. As reported by MSP News, the aftermath of the crashes resulted in lane closures that lasted until approximately 2 p.m. The left travel lanes eastbound and the right and center travel lanes westbound were shut down as troopers carried out their on-scene investigation. Details have been sparse as the inquiry proceeds, and further information is pending as the investigation moves forward.
